Laine leaves game after centre-ice collision

Midway through the third period of the Jets/Sabres game, Patrik Laine was the victim of a scary centre ice hit which lead to him being sidelined for the rest of the game. 

First things first, the hit was clean. It was a textbook hit and the point of contact was directly at Laine’s chest. Secondly, Scheifele’s pass wasn’t a wise decision in that scenario. The pass was putting Laine in a vulnerable position and while this incident isn’t Scheifele’s fault by any means, Scheifele’s poor pass should be noted as well.

After the game, coach Maurice had no update on the severity of Laine’s injury. 

Maurice also said that Scheifele standing up for Laine was the right call. I can understand the argument that can be made about the stupidity of a fight over a clean hit. But when things are happening that fast, as a player, you don’t know if the hit was clean or not and you’ve got your star player lying down on the ice motionless. 

Good on Laine’s line mates for standing up for their star player. 

As Jets fans currently have their fingers crossed Laine’s injury isn’t too serious, the thought of life without Laine is too much to grasp for a fanbase that has to endure so much frustration this season.